In 2006, the Scarlet Knights temporarily captured the attention of New York and the country with a stunning nationally televised upset of No. 3 Louisville in November that made the back page of this newspaper. The Knights were in control of their own destiny in the Big East, but lost the following week at Cincinnati and - with a BCS bowl game on the line - then fell at West Virginia. Instead of playing in the Orange Bowl, they were shipped to Houston for the late-December, no-interest Texas Bowl.

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The next year, they actually landed a January bowl game, but it was in Toronto on Jan. 5.

In 2008, the Knights finished as the hottest team in the Big East, rallying from a 1-5 start to win their final six regular-season games, rolling up 54 points on Pittsburgh, 49 on South Florida and 63 on Louisville.

But once again, they were nowhere to be found when the big bowl games were played, and landed in lovely Birmingham, Ala., in the PapaJohn's.com Bowl in late December, where they beat N.C. State.

This season, the Knights, picked to finish eighth in the Big East preseason coaches' poll, are 5-1 (2-0 in league play) and have become one of the most pleasant surprises in the country. If Rutgers can get by a young Louisville team (2-4, 0-1) Friday night on the road, the Knights would be looking at a home game on Oct. 29 against West Virginia that could determine the conference champ. The upcoming weeks are another chance for Rutgers to become State U. in the five boroughs.

Big East football is in the midst of massive realignment, seeking to form a strong, cohesive 12-team league with the potential additions of Boise State, Air Force, Houston, SMU, Central Florida and Navy. But in order for this tortured league to be all it can be, it needs Rutgers to carry the banner in the nation's media capital. New York City has always been a Notre Dame, Army, Syracuse and Penn State town. Aside from Rutgers' historic standing as the birthplace of college football, the Knights have normally been in the background.

They pounded on the door of the Big East for years. Rutgers was an original football-only member in 1991 and then became an all-sports member in 1995 in a league that has an automatic BCS bid and the strongest basketball profile in the country. It is time for the Knights to stop shopping themselves around to the Big Ten and ACC and realize the opportunity the Big East presents them. When you consider Penn State's 84-year-old icon Joe Paterno is not getting any younger and Syracuse could follow Boston College's footsteps into obscurity once they enter the ACC, the Knights are in a unique position to have it all if they can finally win their first Big East championship. It would also help to stop playing non-descript non-BCS teams in September, such as Howard and N.C. Central, that take any buzz out of the start of the season.

Schiano, in his 11th year at Rutgers, deserves much of the credit for rejuvenating the Knights after a 4-8 season in 2010 that saw them go 1-6 in the league. He scrapped that wretched Wildcat offense, hired veteran offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti from Pitt to reinstall a power offense and brought in another Panthers assistant in Jeff Hafley, who recruits Jersey as well as anyone. Schiano has gone back to calling the plays for a defense that is tied with South Carolina for most forced turnovers (24), is second in interceptions (14) and is giving up 16points per game. He is finding ways to showcase his productive future NFL receiver, Mohamed Sanu, while Schiano's special teams have played a huge role in wins over Syracuse and Navy with a pair of blocked field goals.

"I'm not surprised," Rutgers linebacker Steve Beauharnais said. "It's not a miracle story. It's not the 'Little Giants.' We just find ways to win."